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Races
Creating Races For many campaigns Arbiters might wish a Player Character to be a race that is not human. Elves or Dwarves for a fantasy campaign, or perhaps Mutants or Aliens in a sci-fi campaign. This section will outline some basic principals in race creation. To aid you in creating your own race we have also provided some special powers, racial abilities and penalties that can be incorporated into the Races you create. Guidelines for Race Creation * Balance. The most important and finicky aspect of race creation is ensuring that none of the races that are available to the players are overpowered or underpowered. Maintain a good balance between bonuses and penalties. * Uniqueness. Each race must be unique or there is no reason to have them in your campaign. When creating a new race think of whether or not it is truly different than one that already exists in your campaign world. If not then consider changing it or leaving it out all together. * Depth. To make a race engaging and fun to play it must have good depth. Depth can be described as all the elements out side of the physical parameters that make up a race. Things like Society, Religion, Habitat, Language, and Culture. * Fun. The bottom line is, "is the race fun to play". If the race is frustrating in its limitations, overly rigid or just plain boring then it is best left as an NPC race only. The Race Template The Race Template, (found at the end of the Appendix, after the Character Sheet), is a tool that you can use as an aid in designing races. Each area of the template has a corresponding table of sample entries. Feel free to modify entries or create your own; just keep in mind the above guidelines for creating races. Glossary of Terms * Climate/Terrain: The type of climate or terrain where the race prefers to make its home. * Sociability: A general indication of how this race gets along with other races. * Base DC: The amount of personal DC that Characters of this race start with. * Movement: An indication of whether or not the race is generally fast moving or slow. The amount of Movement that Characters of this race start with is equal to this number. * Base Perception: Perception is a measure of how perceptive the race is in general. This number is the racial base for the Perception Attribute. * Size: The size class of an adult member of the race. * Weight: The range of weights for adults of the race. * Height: The range of heights for adults of the race. * Life Span: This attribute is the average length of life of members of this race. * Chance of Insanity: Some races are predisposed to being irrational, (by human standards), others have a high degree of mental fortitude; this is measured by the races Chance of Insanity. * Attribute Base: The average Attributes for a typical adult member of the race * Attribute Max: The Maximum attainable Attribute that a member of the race can achieve through training and self-improvement. * Transfer Points: The maximum total number of points that can be moved between attributes during Character creation. * Racial Bonuses: The benefit to playing a race other than human is that they have abilities that humans don't have. These abilities manifest themselves in a variety of different areas. This section of the race description should list all of the races special abilities. * Racial Penalties: To maintain balance all races have penalties that offset the races bonuses. These drawbacks are varied and can be as much fun to play as the races bonuses. * Description: Most races don't look the same as humans. The description is a physical description of what the race looks like. * Personality: Races have a cultural predisposition to act a certain way. Personality is where that races general personality is described. * Society: Society is where aspects of a race's culture are described, things like religion, and politics, attitudes towards magic and technology, combat tactics, philosophy and the day-to-day practices of a race can all be described under society. * Habitat: This describes where the race makes its home. What types of buildings (if any) the race inhabits, whether they live in cities, are nomadic, live underground and any other habitat related issues.Filling in the Template For each area of the template use the following tables and guidelines to determine each aspect of the race. Alternately you can create any appropriate entry for any aspect if there isn't one in the tables that suits your needs. Climate/Terrain Many races come from more than one climate or terrain type so any combination or even all of the above terrain types can be used. Alternately you may wish to have the race come from a fantastic, fictional type of terrain such as giant flying cities or nomadic space convoys. Sociability All races start with Indifferent sociability. To improve or worsen the sociability level of your race, see Racial Bonuses and Racial Penalties. Size Sizes can be Small, Medium or Large for Player Character Races. NPC races can also be Giant. Each size comes with its own advantages and drawbacks, (see table), in addition to the obvious being able to fit into small places or reach things on a high shelf. Life Span In General the life span of a race isn't a factor during regular play. This attribute is mainly used as flavor. So any lifespan is acceptable. Base DC, Base Perception, Movement, Chance of Insanity, Attributes and Transfer Points All races start with the same basic stats in these areas. Consult the table to see what the starting values are. These stats can all be modified using the Racial Bonuses and Penalties outlined below. Racial Bonuses and Racial Penalties Racial Bonuses and Penalties can greatly impact the playability of a race and its balance within a campaign. Therefore each Bonus and penalty is given a Value. The Value will be either positive (+) or Negative (-). As you assign Bonuses and Penalties Keep track of the Values, it is recommended that all PC Races have the same Value. The bonuses and penalties listed here are a guideline to help Arbiters create races for their campaign. They should not be taken as absolute law. If an Arbiter would like to change a Value, ignore a maximum, or introduce features that do not appear on the list that is completely within the Arbiter\'s rights. This list is only a guideline to help arbiters to maintain balance. Racial Bonuses – Descriptions * Berserker Rage: Certain conditions may cause some Characters to fly into a Berserker Rage, attacking the creature that triggered the rage in a wild frenzy. When the berserker rage is triggered, the affected Character is allowed a Save Vs Mind to avoid the effects. * Berserker Bonuses: While in a Berserker Rage, the Berserker receives a +5 bonus to PS and END, and + 25%, (round up), to Personal DC temporarily, while enraged only. * Berserker Penalties: While in a Berserker Rage, no complex Actions are possible, and a -5 penalty to Defend is applied. While enraged, if the first opponent goes down then the Berserker will attack the nearest moving target, including comrades. * Un-enrage: After all of the triggering opponents have gone down and are motionless, the Berserker can attempt to roll under twice their MS on a D% to become un-enraged and stop attacking anything that moves. This roll can be attempted once per Round until successful. After the rage ends, all the extra DC dissipates, possibly leaving the Berserker in a coma, or dead. |} A Rear Claw Strike is a special attack that some creatures with natural weapons, (claws), can perform. While inflicting more damage, a Rear Claw Strike can only be performed if the Strike immediately preceding it was a successful Claw Strike. A successful rear claw strike deals double damage. |} Some of the races possess the ability to pounce with great skill. This leap must be performed as part of a Close Quarters Combat Strike, and is in addition to regular movement; (i.e. the range of the Pounce does not count toward the Character\'s Movement in combat). The target must be at least 20 feet away from the Character in order to perform a Pounce, and there must be minimum clear headroom equal to one third of the Pounce distance. A successful Pounce Strike will knock down any target smaller than the attacker that fails to roll under their PS on a D20. Larger opponents cannot be knocked down with the Pounce attack, but they can be leapt on top of with it. |} This Strike is the same as a regular Pounce but is more accurate and deals greater damage. A Critical Pounce is subject to all the same restrictions as a regular Pounce. When performing a Critical Pounce the leaping character receives a +2 to strike and doubles the Accuracy Bonus on a successful strike. |} Some races have an armored hide that has an Armor Capacity, (AC), and Resistance Factor, (RF), (See the Combat Section for details on AC and RF). This natural armor must be fully depleted before normal attacks can damage the personal DC of the creature. This armored hide heals at the same rate as personal DC. Effects such as ingested poisons, blood loss, etc. bypass hide completely, and are applied directly to the Creature's personal DC. |} Feathered Wings are large and bulky, but allow the graftee to fly at a high rate of speed, gliding and soaring with ease. Feathered Wings provide a movement of 38 when flying. Feathered Wings provide a bonus of +2 to Agility when flying, but inflict a penalty of –2 to Agility otherwise. |} Leathery Wings are more versatile and have the advantage of being less bulky than feathered wings, but at the cost of reduced speed and mobility. In order for the graftee to maintain the great amount of energy required to fly with this type of wings, an adjustment must be made to their metabolism, causing them to consume twice the normal amount of food. They also have the ability to hang from their claw tips, like bats. Leathery Wings provide a movement of 25 when flying. Leathery Wings provide a bonus of +4 to Agility when flying, but inflict a penalty of –2 to Agility otherwise. |} This Racial feature allows the character swim at double their normal movement rate. |} Natural Weapons are any kind of physical weaponry the race might have. Some examples of natural weapons include claws, horns, spines, pinchers and tusks. When determining Natural Weapons value use common sense, for example when designing a race with claws the value would be applied for clawed fingers once, not once for each finger. If the race also had clawed toes the value would be applied again. Natural Weapons use the Unarmed Combat Skill in combat. |} Breath Weapons are a special type of Natural Weapon. They are listed separately because they work a little differently than normal Natural Weapons. Breath Weapons can be Fire, Electricity, Cold or Acid, (choose one). All Breath Weapons have an area of effect that is a cone that extends from creatures mouth, is 30 feet long and 10 feet wide at the base. Breath Weapons have a limited amount of use in a day. A Breath Weapon can only be used once per day per Level of Unarmed Combat Skill that the creature knows. If the creature using the Breath Weapon doesn\'t have the Unarmed Combat Skill, then the Breath Weapon can still be used but only once per day. Breath weapons also have a secondary effect in addition to damage; Fire ignites flammable objects which will burn for 1DR of RF bypassing Damage per round until the fire is extinguished or the object is completely consumed, Cold reduces the movement of it\'s targets by half for 2 rounds, Acid deals RF bypassing damage, and Electricity has an EMP effect. |} This long cat or dog like tail aids the race in balance. Creatures from tail having races gain a +3 to their base and maximum agility attribute. |} This tail is used for grasping like an extra hand. It does not have the motor skill needed for performing complex tasks but can be used to hold and swing objects. It is strong enough to support the creature's weight so that they can hang by it if they choose. It is not agile enough to use High-Tech weapons but any Low-Tech Close Quarters Weapon can be wielded with a prehensile tail. |} Some races have greater natural abilities than humans. Attributes base scores and maximums can be increased or decreased (see racial penalties) separately. |} For Races that can take a lot of punishment, increase their personal DC |} The hairs on this race's forearms have hardened into needle-like quills. Furthermore, the muscles surrounding the base of the quills have evolved to fire the quills, (one at a time), up to 5x the PS of the creature in feet. Quills can be fired at will, but grow back slowly, so the creature will only have 10 quills available each day. The Porcupine Quills strike with a DR of 1. Victims of quill attacks must make a Save Vs. Body, with a -3 penalty, or suffer -1 to Strike and -1 to Defend per quill. Saves and penalties are both cumulative. Use the Unarmed Combat Skill to Strike with Quills. |} Creatures with this Power can create 1 dose of Type C poison per day. It is normally excreted through fangs but could be excreted through Quills, Claws or Stingers at the Arbiter's discretion. |} The race has one extra pair of arms and hands that join their torso just below the normal pair. These limbs are not as strong or dexterous as regular limbs. They are at -2 to PS and +2 to all Difficulty Factors on Skills performed with these limbs. On the other hand, (no pun intended), they give -4 to any Difficulty Factors performed with both pairs of hands. Having a pair of extra arms affords Characters of this race 1 extra Physical Action per Round. |} Once per day the character can belch forth a cloud of toxic gas that fills an area with a 15\' radius. Any non-environmentally shielded characters in the area make a Save Vs Body, with a -5 penalty, or become violently ill for 1-10 minutes. While they are sick they will be at –6 to Strike and Defend and lose 1 Action per Round. All Races are immune to the effects of their own gas. |} This feature is some times a bonus and sometimes a penalty for races. The fearsome Visage is an appearance that is so hideous and disturbing, that other races will stand frozen in fear or flee in panic when they see it. When first exposed to a race with a fearsome visage a character must make a mind save. If they fail the save then they are horrified of the creature with the fearsome visage. Horrified characters can make an MS Check a successful Check means the character will flee moving directly away as fast as they can for 1 full round. A failed Check means the character is petrified with fear unable to do anything but scream, whimper (if attacked the can defend but that is all) for 1 full round. After the 10 seconds has elapsed the character will "get a grip" and act as normal. |} Characters with this ability cannot be Surprised by any creature within a 50-foot range, including those that are flying, cloaked, Obfuscated or buried. A successful Perception Check is required to detect movement within this range. The ability to Sense Vibrations also provides a +1 bonus to all Strikes against targets within 10'. |} This ability provides greatly enhanced night-vision, with no penalties to vision at night. However, total darkness will still obscure the vision of those with Ultrasight. The Range of Ultrasight is equal to the characters normal range of vision. |} Infravision is a type of sight that detects Infrared radiation up to a specified range. It can detect heat sources and temperature differentials between objects, allowing a limited sort of vision when in complete darkness. The range of Infravision is limited to 200 feet. |} This translucent extra pair of eyelids protects the eyes from harsh environments and bright flashes while still allowing the character to see. Nictitating membranes cover the eyes at the top and bottom like regular eyelids, sliding under the characters normal eyelids, directly over the eyeballs. Nictitating membranes nullify the effects of sight based attacks, (tear gas, flash grenades, smoke, etc). |} This Racial Ability allows creatures to se things at great distances. Far distant objects can appear up to 40 times larger to the character. The ability to turn this feature on and off is part of the races gift. In effect the creature can zoom in and out as though their eyes were Zoom lenses. |} Gills provide the Race with the ability to breathe underwater for an indefinite period of time. This race can also breathe air normally. |} Creatures with this feature can be a little jumpy but are very hard to surprise. They receive +2 to Defend, +10% to Perception. Provides a bonus to Initiative of 2. |} Some races are naturally more perceptive than others. This feature increases the Racial Base Perception of the race, see the Racial Bonuses Chart for details. |} A feature of many races that live in extremely dark environments Bioluminescence allows creatures to become living flashlights. They can emit light up to 200' from a specific part of their body (finger, eyes, chest, or even a special light-emitting appendage, to be decided by the arbiter at the time the race is created). |} These are Skills that area apart of the race's culture. Bonus Skills are extra starting Skills that members of the race get in addition to any Skills acquired by spending Pool Points. Races can be started with multiple Bonus Skills. |} Like Skills, Combat can also be part of a race's cultural heritage. A bonus Combat Style is in addition to those that the Characters may learn from starting Pool Points. |} Some races are more social than others. To improve a Races' sociability this feature can be taken multiple times, once for good sociability twice for friendly. |} This power makes the Race Immune to normal fires, and only take ½ Damage from magical fire or plasma attacks. |} Races with this ability are completely unaffected by powers or Spells that cause dehydration, and never need to drink at all.Racial penalties– Descriptions |} This limitation is a fairly minor one. Specific weapons are things like energy pistols or short swords. Characters limited in this way cannot train in the skills needed to effectively wield the specific weapon. If they try to use the weapon they will receive a –4 penalty to strike. |} A significant restriction, this limitation prohibits the race from using a broad range of weapons such as Energy Weapons, Edged Weapons, Blunt Weapons or Projectiles. Characters limited in this way cannot train in the skills needed to effectively wield any weapon that would fall in the category. If they try to use a restricted weapon they will receive a –4 penalty to strike. |} A major restriction that limits the race to using only weapons from a single category such as Energy Weapons, Edged Weapons, Blunt Weapons or Projectiles. Characters limited in this way cannot train in the skills needed to effectively wield any weapon that would fall outside the specified category. If they try to use a restricted weapon they will receive a –4 penalty to strike. |} This is the most limiting form of weapon restriction. Races that are limited to a single weapon are only allowed to use a specific weapon such as a ceremonial knife, family heirloom rifle or plain wooden staff. Characters limited in this way cannot train in the skills needed to effectively wield any weapon that is not the specified weapon. If they try to use a restricted weapon they will receive a –4 penalty to Strike. |} Races that are not culturally predisposed to a certain way of thinking can have trouble adapting to new techniques and technologies. Also physical limitations may apply. In either case some races may be unable to take a specific specialization. In most cases this will be an upper level specialization such as Tech Master, Rogue Master, or Military Veteran. Keep in mind that some Specialist Programs are prerequisites for every other specialization in the stream. If restricting a race from a stream is the goal then use the value for Barred From a Stream. |} A race with this restriction cannot learn specializations from a particular Stream (Technical, Mystic, Rouge, or Military). |} The Races culture prohibits characters from learning a specific Skill. Keep in mind that some skills are prerequisites for specialist programs and that by prohibiting skill use you may be also prohibiting Specialization or even an entire Stream. |} The races culture or physical dimensions make it impossible for the race to learn skills from a particular group such as Espial, or Trade Skills. Keep in mind that some skills are prerequisites for specialist programs and that by prohibiting skill use you may be also prohibiting Specialization or even an entire Stream. |} This prohibits the race from using a specific single Spell like Arc Lightning or Quantum Acceleration. This may or may not include using magic items that cast the spell at the Arbiters discretion. |} Races that are prohibited from learning a school pf spells cannot learn any spells from a Specific School like Mystic Manipulation, Envirokinesis, or Necromancy. |} Some Races are Xenophobic, mean, surly, highly ritualized or just plain hostile. This penalty can be applied multiple times, once for wary, twice for poor, or three times for hostile. |} Use this for physically challenged or diminutive races. Do not reduce the DC below 1. |} Races that are Sensitive to light will take double damage from any light based attacks including laser strikes. Also any light based attacks that are not damaging will have double effectiveness. |} Races that are Sensitive to electricity will take double damage from any electricity based attacks including Ion and Electron weapon strikes. Also any electricity based attacks that are not damaging will have double effectiveness. |} Races that are Sensitive to heat will take double damage from any temperature based attacks including Plasma strikes and fire and cold attacks. Also any temperature based attacks that are not damaging will have double effectiveness. |} Races that are Soft will take double damage from any Physical, Kinetic strikes including Particle Disruption strikes. Also double all pain penalties. |} Races that are Sensitive to Energy will take double damage from any energy based attacks including all energy weapons and Spells, (but not direct physical Strikes and kinetic energy like Rail Gun Strikes or Unarmed Strikes). Also any energy based attacks that are not damaging will have double effectiveness. |} Races that are Sensitive to sound will take double damage from any sound based attacks. Also any sound based attacks that are not damaging will have double effectiveness and duration. |} Description The description of a race is a simple physical description. In other words what do members of the race look like? When describing a race keep in mind what the races bonuses and penalties are and the environment that the race comes from. These should all be reflected in the races appearance. Some areas of appearance that should be addressed: Build – skinny, husky, tall, short, muscular, lean… Skin – Smooth, rough, thick, translucent, color… Facial Features Eyes – small, large, slanted, almond, color, beastly … Ears – small, large, pointy, floppy, position on head… Mouth – Wide, narrow, pointy teeth, flat teeth, forked tongue, lipless, big lips… Nose – wide, pointy, large small, snout, trunk, slits… Hair- bald, hairy, fur, hair color, body hair… Limbs- size, proportion, \# of fingers… Not every one of these features needs to be described in detail just the significant ones. It may be helpful to relate descriptions to real world races or animals (e.g. looks like a man with the head and legs of a bull). Personality The personality of a race describes general trends within the race. If a Race is happy it doesn't meant that every member of the race is perpetually cheerful it just means that in general members of the will be in a good mood under normal conditions. Some personality traits include: Cheerful, outgoing, secretive, morose, sullen, suspicious, friendly, gregarious, fearful, servile, stubborn, tenacious, curious, close minded, open minded, domineering, gloomy, exuberant, peaceful, warlike, noble, honorable, deceitful, generous… Society This is a description of the races social structure. It should include the races knowledge of and attitudes towards Religion, Technology, Magic, and other Races. Society should also describe any cultural predispositions or biases (for example if a culture elevates musicians or considers music to be a form of worship or perhaps making music is forbidden). Political affiliations and the political structure of a society should also be described here. It is important to create a clear picture of how a race behaves in order to allow players to get into character. If it is necessary, use real-world resources to draw comparisons, or as inspiration, when designing a Races Society. Habitat This describes the races preferred habitat. Describe where the Race lives in terms of climate, location, and architecture (e.g. tropical underwater cities built from shells and glass, stone fortresses built on icy mountain peeks, tents made from woven fibers and animal bones that can be easily packed up to follow the migration of herd animals across the plains). Finishing Up The most important thing to consider when design a race is how does it fit together overall. Does it make sense within the world? Do all of its abilities and restrictions make sense with each other and with the races Society and Habitat? Does the Races Description reflect its Habitat, Society, Personality, Bonuses and Penalties? And most importantly is the race going to be fun to play?